Again, I'm going to bring some political chat into the frame, because I love politics and the psychology behind writing good copy. It's a tasty combo for me.
I've written a bit about Trump before and what he...what do we even call what he did? But a bit about the language he used. And I was having a think and a poke around the language used in the EU referendum here in the UK.
When everyone got to the ballot box - they were faced with 'Remain' or 'Leave'. And the campaign machines behind each position had their own inner debates about the language to front their message with. 'Stay' was floated around instead of 'remain' and I actually think it could've made a little difference.
There's something homely and nurturing about staying. 'Remain' seems a bit clinical and unfeeling. Staying is more emotive - you imagine someone saying 'oh go on, just stay a bit longer and have a cuppa', it's loaded with warmth. 'Please remain with me this weekend' is just clumsy and weird - people don't use the word remain as part of their typical, daily vocabulary, it's unfamiliar.
And the phrasing on the ballot was important too; the question being asked didn't merit a 'yes' or 'no' question, but if it had been 'do you think the UK should stay in the EU?' and you answered yes or no - I think that might have helped Remain too. 'Yes' is a positive word, if not the most positive. Whereas 'no' is about rejection, you'd associate it with the colour red. It's negative language. It could have made people feel like they were giving the wrong answer.
'Leave' worked out well for the Eurosceptics. It's direct, actionable language. When people voted leave, they felt like active participants in change. They were agents of their own future. They were taking a stand, chest puffed out and they were bloody leaving. Imagine an argument, you're fighting your corner and pouring out emotion, but you need to get out of there, you need to take control, 'I'm leaving!' - it's kind of powerful, in a sort of Eastenders-esque way. It has some old-fashioned drama to it.
Just a few thoughts, 8 months down the line.